AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli believes that there are only three players better than him in world football: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

For this reason, the trio are the players that Balotelli admires in the game. But the former Manchester City man still feels that he should have beaten them to the Ballon d’Or, and only has himself to blame for not having collected the accolade yet.

"I hope to be the best player in the world", Balotelli told Le Lene.

"There are currently three players I admire because they are better than I am", he continued.